Changes

==Patton in Sicily==

The film does accurately relate the leading role played by Patton in the liberation of Sicily. His daring use of Armor was crucial in the defeat of the Nazis on the island. The movie does show Patton being motivated by the desire to do better than General Montgomery, the victor at El Alamein. There was a great personal rivalry between the two men who were both driven and wildly ambitious and in many ways alike. The rivalry between Montgomery and Patton was a feature of the Sicilian campaign and was perhaps a factor in why it ended so quickly and with a decisive Allied victory. In fact, the rivalry was not as intense as the motion picture suggests and the two men worked together when needed for the good of the Allied cause<ref>D’Este, p. 119</ref>. The movie shows Patton after visiting the wounded seeing a shell-shocked soldier. The G.I. was unable to continue fighting and had been sent behind the lines for treatment. Patton is outraged when he sees the soldier who does not have any physical wounds and is assumed by him to be a malingerer and he verbally and physically assaults him. When this was seen by a reporter it was widely publicized in America and elsewhere <ref>Lovelace, Alexander G. "The Image of a General: The Wartime Relationship between General George S. Patton Jr. and the American Media", Journalism History, 40 (no. 2 (Summer 2014)), pp. 108–120</ref>. This incident did lead to Patton being ordered to stand down and he was not given a front-line posting for almost a year. However, what the movie failed to show was that Patton slapped two different soldiers who he accused of being cowards. The scene where Patton apologizes to the soldier was accurate. The movie accurately reflects Patton’s reaction to his disgrace in Sicily. The order to remove him from the battlefield provoked a personal crisis for Patton.

==The movie portrayal of Patton==

It is generally accepted that Patton or old Blood and Guts as his men liked to call him was outstanding. He captures the essence of the man and his many contradictions. Patton was a cultured man and believed in traditional values yet he could also be crude and a bully <ref>Essame, H., Patton: A Study in Command (New York City: Scribner & Sons, 1995), p. 67</ref>. The drive and the ambition of Patton are also brilliantly captured in the movie. He was a very ambitious man and believed that he was a great leader and from childhood he believed that he was destined for greatness. The physical bravery of Patton is shown in many instances. It also accurately catches the outspokenness of the General and his love of publicity. Never shy to boast about his exploits, Patton was regularly in the papers and was a very well-known figure in America. The movie also traces the relationship between Patton and General Omar Bradley and indeed the two men were close friends and colleagues. The movie gets right many of the details of Patton’s life such as his pearl-handled revolvers and his white English bull terrier <ref> Essame, p. 203</ref>. These were part of the public image of Old Blood and Guts, which he cultivated assiduously. The movie does catch the character of the General.